Highlights and Prospects From Forest City’s Sweep To Take Conference Title
Finally! For the Forest City volleyball program, winning a conference title usually comes down to one match: Lake Mills. Lake Mills, a perennial Class 2A power in the North Iowa area has won the regular season conference championship starting with the North Iowa Conference which is now the Top of Iowa Conference (West Division) since 2003. For alums, coaches, and fans of both programs there are plenty of memories of five set thrillers whether it be in the regular season, conference championships, or even a birth to the state tournament. The streak has been broken, and Forest City is the new champion of the Top of Iowa Conference (West).
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First serve ready from @forestcityvb vs. Lake Mills. Packed house! pic.twitter.com/NzXrKRN2mv
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) October 3, 2018
The History
The history between these two programs runs deep. Some of these athletes might even go to the same outside of school organizations, their bands combine to march in parades over the summer, parents might work together, and their parents maybe even played high school sports together or against each other. The Top of Iowa Conference and most small school conferences can relate to this is, when you go to a small school in a rural area the conference seems like one big high school. Players know each other, they probably follow each other on social media, and the rivalry runs deep. This is the first conference title in the regular season for Forest City since 1986 (Forest City won the conference tournament in 2013, and a state tournament appearance most recently in 2015). Lake Mills has trophy cases full of volleyball hardware of conference championships and a state runner-up trophy from 2011 season where they finished 45-1, their lone loss coming in the state championship to Dike-New Hartford.
Great Tuesday night crowd. Two teams are maybe 15 miles away both from Winnebago County pic.twitter.com/gLw2fqWdDI
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) October 3, 2018
The Hype
Some schools don’t even bother with having bleachers on both sides pulled out. This was two sides packed with student sections in full force with Lake Mills sporting the theme of “Rodeo/Cowboy” and the FC Pride Tribe had the oh so popular “Jersey Theme”. Forest City jumped on top early with two big kills by Senior Kelsey Koch and setter, Emma Hovenga was running a balanced offense dishing to fellow Senior Cora Holland, Sophomore Kaylee Miller who was finding open spots down the line, and Freshman Shea Dillavou. Lake Mills was always threatening, Senior Hannah Hanson was on the attack early, averaging 2.5 kills per set where Sophomore standout Kylie Greenfield can score from anywhere in the front row as well as a threat out of the backcourt. What controlled the game was the ability for Forest City to handle the aggressive serving of Lake Mills. With Hovenga able to get her hands on those passes and giving her hitters a chance to make a hard swing proved to be too much for the Bulldogs. Forest City has a group of athletes who are very versatile, being able to swing from multiple front row positions. This allows them to keep the defense off balance allowing for a lot of one on one opportunities.
The Prospects To Watch:
Kelsey Koch – Forest City – Senior – Right Side
This is your ultimate D3/NAIA athlete who can be the total package at the next level. The four sport athlete knows how to get it done with her quick left handed swing, her spots on tips, being a primary passer on serve receive, and can jump out of the gym to put up a big block. With high character, high academic, and a family lineage of all conference volleyball players (older sisters Rachel and Emily graduated in 2015 and 2016 earning multiple all conference honors), she gets it. Growing up in a gym with her sisters and her mom, an assistant coach, she knows what it takes. Koch also has made it an annual event to participate in the state track meet. This past year she medaled in the 100 meter hurdles. Again, a possible package deal to be a multisport athlete at the next level.
Kylie Greenfield – Lake Mills – Sophomore – Outside Hitter
Greenfield leads the Bulldogs averaging 3.29 kills per set, good for over 200 on the year so far. At 5’10, Greenfield is able to play six rotations and score from all of them. A fire and intensity on the court, Greenfield has the athletic ability to go with the intangibles to be a top player in the conference and one to watch in the Class of 2021. With two more years of high school volleyball, the future is bright for Greenfield.
Cora Holland – Forest City – Senior – Outside Hitter
Holland brings an aggressive style of play to the court. The 5’9, Senior outside leads the Indians with kills at nearly 3 per set. With the combination of Koch and Holland it allows for others to have open swings at the net. When the Indians are in system and Holland is able to transition to attack she can really bring a heavy swing and score points in a hurry.